Michele B,thank you for that line about the fact that you don't have mania but lots of mood swings. I haven't really noticed mania in my daughter, so that is why I was so shocked with the diagnosis. When I think of BP I tend to think of mania. However, her mood swings are incredible. Sometimes we just sit there and say "What just happened to set her off?" One minute she is fine and the next she has gone from 0-60 in about 15 seconds! I notice that lately she keeps talking about her "moods" also so perhaps she is wondering what is going on (we haven't told her yet--we are waiting for the PHd to go over that with her.) Thanks so much for sharing about you and your daughter--I pray that you will have many blessings as you both learn to live and cope with BP.

A PHd. did the eval--that is a psychologist--right? We haven't got the official diagnosis yet, however, the Phd. who did the eval called my daughters therapist as she was scoring everything and told her that she (my daughter) was severely bipolar and knowing how long it took to get an appt. with a psychiatrist she was calling to get the ball rolling. We should get the official report Monday or Tuesday. If I had to guess which kind of bipolar I would say it is rapid cycling. She goes from extremely happy to extremely angry to extremely sad in a matter of 1/2 hour. She also does not have the psycotic episodes (well, she has had one that we know of, but we don't think that was related to being bipolar). Are the people in family on medication? I am wodering if it is possible to be bipolar and live somewhat normally without meds. Thanks so much for your input. I will be sure and look at side effects of whatever meds she goes on.

Thank you for all your suggestions and info. I will check out the websites rght away. Her pediatric Dr. said she is not comfortable prescribing anything, however, once the psychiatrist does prescribe something and it works she will be willing to maintain. As far as the diet and exercise goes that could be tricky as I'm sure you've experienced the control battles that can happen when you try to do something different with food. This girl also cannot exercise as she is RAD and hyper vigilant. So exercise is probably what she needs most, but she is so tired from trying to keep watch on things every day and trying to make sure everyone outside the home thinks she is 14 (when she is really 3 emotionally) is totally exhausting and draining to her. She cannot add one extra thing besides shcool and home life. Well, I really appreciate your experience and input. Thank you!!

Thanks Scarlett. I suppose we've hung on this long so what is another few months or more. I have been warned by her therapist and caseworker that it is a long process in getting an appointment with a psychatrist and then getting the meds right. We are hoping that we can at least get something started by the time school starts in the fall.

My foster daughter was just diagnosed with bipolar after a psych eval. Does anyone have any experience with this? We now have to find a psychiatrist who will prescribe medication for her and I have been told that it takes a long time to even get an appointment. At this point I feel I need to understand anything I can about this and just hold on for the ride until we can get her moods regulated.

My 8 yr old dd is learning disabled and ADHD and has her days when she just is unable to work. It helps when I am tuned in to what her particular needs are for that day. Some days she needs a wiggle cushion to sit on, or may have to do some heavywork (jumping on tramp, chewing gum, wall pushes etc..) and some days she is able to work very well. I try to roll with it and not get into power struggles. I usually respond with "Ok, you can't do this now, but it does need to be done by lunchtime. If it is not done you will not have tv or computer time today." Then the choice is up to her--although I do have to remind her before her time is up and she usually makes the right choice. If she doesn't it isn't my fault and she has to pay the consequence and learns very quickly that mom means what she says when she asks for something to be done. I also believe in rewards. It helps change their thinking and eventually can be phased out as the new habit develops. The main thing I have found helpful is to avoid the power struggles! Hope this helps. Mindy Tom mom to 6 daughters

I have had my Vitamix for about 5 years now and have never had a problem with it. I use it almost every day and am amazed at the power it has. Mindy Tom mom to 6 daughters

We have also been foster parents for 8 years and though we never expected to, we adopted two beautiful little girls. They are seven months apart and both came to us as babies and it just happened that neither one would ever be able to go "home" with their biological parents. So it didn't take much to make the decision to adopt them. Their adoptions finally took place when they were 3 years old and happened within a month of each other. They are now beautiful 8/9 year olds. Even though they came to us so young we still have issues that we deal with as a result of some of the trauma in their very early months, but I always tell them that they are my special gifts from God. We are now doing therapeutic foster care for a 14 year old who wants us to adopt her, but she has pretty severe attachment problems and we would love to adopt but at this point we still need the support (emotional and knowledge) of the agency that we work with--at least until she can safely attach. Blessings to you during this joyful time! Mindy Tom mom to 6 daughters ps. Learn all you can about Reactive Attachment Disorder as most of the kid's I've worked with all have this in some way, shape or form. Most have not had the consistent, loving care that our kids have had as babies and therefore do not perceive the world as a safe place. The good news is that they can learn it, but it takes knowledge and hard work on the parents part.

I'd just like to jump in here and say that I have good luck selling on http://amazon.com as well. I've also had problems with ebay and will not sell there again, but I've been listing on Amazon for a couple years now and have never had a problem. Mindy Tom mom to 6 daughters

Have you checked http://amazon.com ? Many times I find odds and ends there for a good price. Mindy Tom mom of 6 daughters

We just switched from MUS back to Saxon and I am so glad we did. My 8 year old dd needed the spiral method that Saxon uses. Several years ago I used only Saxon with my older daughters. We did Saxon all the way through. With my two youngest I was burnt out of Saxon and decided to try something new. We used MUS for three years until I finally realized that my 3rd grader couldn't do the math unless it was on the paper-and then not even very well. She struggled and tried and cried and now that we have gone back to Saxon 2 and started over she is so much happier and loving math. She loves the fact that we practice the calendar, clock and money every day and she loves having "homework" like her big sisters (the side B page that should be done in the afternoon for retention). We are thrilled with the switch.

Thanks. I think we'll try them. Mindy Tom mom of 6 daughters

I am fairly new to these boards after homeschooling for 13 years and it never occcured to me to combine or supplement math programs! Every year we seem to struggle to fit the child to the math program or find something to help my dd's who just are math challenged. After reading so many post about math I find that many families combine programs and it is a new concept for me! I am so glad that I finally took the time to read the posts and find out what others are doing and how different programs work and how to use the strengths of different ones to help reinforce things. Anyway, now I feel so dumb that I just never thought of that and think of all the frustration I may have avoided with my older girls. Thanks everyone for your posts--I plan keep reading and learning!

We also use FLL with my 8 & 9 year old daughters and we are all very happy with it. My 9 year old is doing the Level 3 book this year along with R&S English 3 and it makes the R&S so much easier. When my older kids did R&S (before we FLL was around) we experienced so much frustration and I wonder what they really learned. I truly believe that because of the foundation they have in grammar from the FLL books they now have an understanding and love of language rather than the fear and dread that my older girls had at that age (and older).

My daughter tried Easy Grammar for a review for high school and hated it. It just wasn't enough. She just couldn't connect it. So we decided to have her go back and do the 5th grade Rod & Staff and she felt like she was really grasping it for the first time. The next year she did the 7th grade Rod & Staff (only because that was what we had on hand) and did very well on the SAT's. She is now in college and gets A's on all her papers and the teachers are all amazed at her grammar skills. (I think they compare them to all the ps kids.) Mindy Tom mom of 6 daughters

I too bought this a few years ago and my kids just did not like it. We also bought all the extras that were just printed on cardstock and very difficult to figure out how to use and put together. It was alot of work. My daughters were bored with it and I noticed that many times the voice was unclear and when they typed in the correct answer it was not accepted. My thought was that this might be good for busy work for one child while you are working with another, but definately not to be used exclusively. It was a purchase that I regretted because of the expense and the fact that it was just not practical. Mindy Tom mom of 6 daughters

Concerta has worked well for my daughter so far. The only side effect she experiences is the decreased appetite, but we have tried three different meds and she has the same with each. So far the Concerta works best for her. (she doesn't swallow pills yet even though she is 8 and we can sprinkle this in applesauce or pudding).

Great site. Thanks! Mindy Tom mom of 6 daughters

I read The Lost Princess and The Princess and the Goblin to my daughters when they were about 10, 8, and 6. They loved both books. Mindy Tom mom of 6 daughters

I have the Level 1 for my daughters ages 8 and 9. One is at a first grade reading level and the other took off in her reading this year, but they both love it. Mindy Tom

Two years ago my now 8 year old daughter was diagnosed through the school district as Learning Disabled. They also recommended I have her tested for ADHD, which I did. We had struggled from Sept. to Dec. with learning letter sounds. Every day we had to start over again and I was sooooo frustrated. (This was all going on during the testing and meetings and diagnosing). Finally, out of desperation my husband and I made the decision to try medication. Within 2 weeks she had learned all her letter sounds and began to blend sounds! What really amazed me was when she said "Mom, I like school now. I'm not dumb!" It also broke my heart becaue I never realized how inferior she felt as she quietly compared herself to her sister. I am not advocating medication here, but it has helped us tremendously. For years and years I was against it and always believed it was overused. Sometimes I still worry and fret about it especially if I read too much by people who are like I was. When that happens my pediatrician usually gently reminds me that if my daughter had diabetes would I deny her medication? Please do not think that I am trying to say this would be best for your son. You are his mother and you know what is best for him. I know from experience how hard it can be to parent a child with ADD issues so I do not want to add any guilt or confusion here. You are a good mom and doing the best you can in difficult circumstances. Hang in there and read all you can and learn how to help your son. I have always found that if I know what a problem is I can learn about it and then find the best way to help my daughter. Mindy Tom mom or 6 daughters

Please excuse me for not answering the right questions. I am new to this website and am still learning the mechanics and ettiquite. I did not see any sample Note Guide pages before I bought it but let me see if I can explain what it is like for you. Each lesson has 2 to 3 pages of practice questions, problems and notes. Some are just fill in the blank stuff because she believes that writing things down helps in the learning process. At the end of each unit there is a practice page and then a quick quiz page. (The answers are in the back of the book). The audio quality is good and the professor is face to face sometimes, uses a easel to write on and also the computer. So far everything has been clear and easy to see, hear, and to follow. I hope I got it right this time.Mindy Tom

In reply to the above posts I will try to answer your questions here. First, the website is http://www.chemistryprofessor.com The professor does not recommend any certain textbook--I just went on Amazon.com and chose one. She does recommend that whatever you use for a textbook to make sure it has an answer key. As far as the video quality goes it is ok. The camera is stationary most of the time, the picture is clear but not superb. I guess I would say it is mediocre from what I have seen so far. What really sold me was the clear and thorough way the professor explains things. If I could understand it then I know my daughter will even more. She also made me chuckle a few times even though she did not joke around--I think it was maybe a tone of voice or something that just tickled my funny bone. Hope this helps. Mindy Tom

Last week I asked anyone out there if they have used the Chemistry Professor's Fundamentals of Chemistry. Since no one replied I went ahead and ordered it for my daughter just to see what it was like. So I thought I would let you all know that I really like it so far. It comes with a set of 12 dvd's with about 3 or 4 lesson on each ( total of 43-30 minute lessons). It also comes with a notes/quiz guide. There are no tests. The downside is that you have to buy a textbook of your choice to go with it. So far I have watched the first three lessons and I like that the professor takes the time to explain things like how to use a scientific calculator. (We didn't use calculators much when I was in school so I needed to know this!) The professor is very clear and thorough in every lesson. It covers the same as a regular high school Chemistry course and maybe a little more. So if anyone is like me and wondering what to do for Chemistry next year--check this out. I think you'll like it. Mindy Tom mom of 6 daughters